Various techniques have been used in the past to assemble a length of toy train track having one or more rails to the supporting cross-ties that constitute the supporting track bed. In one technique for assembling two or more lengths of roll formed sheet metal rail on formed sheet metal cross-ties, each cross-tie has been provided with bendable metal tabs that during assembly have been bent or crimped over and into engagement with a lateral bottom flange on opposite sides of the track rail to hold the rail and cross-ties together as a unitary assembly or section. In this type of track and bed assembly, individual sheet metal cross-ties are attached to the rail at multiple spaced locations along its length. Assembled sections of track and cross-ties are interconnected to form a continuous track for toy trains as is well known.
The roll-formed sheet metal rail for such assembled sections includes a pair of flanges extending in opposite directions from one another and having generally flat bottom surfaces to rest on the flat top of the cross-ties.
In another type of track and bed assembly for toy trains, the track bed has been formed of molded plastic such as polypropylene. The molded track bed includes multiple spaced apart cross-ties along its length with each cross-tie interconnected with an adjacent cross-tie by generally longitudinally extending parallel connector strips. The connector strips are spaced laterally apart a distance to form parallel support strips extending under each of a pair of track rails along their lengths. Each cross-tie includes molded resilient laterally opposing flanges between which lateral bottom flanges of each track rail are held or retained against lateral and vertical movement on the cross-tie.
Sections of the assembled track and molded bed are interconnected to other sections by special sheet metal connector clips that extend between the track of adjacent sections. One connector clip is attached to one of the track rails at one end of the assembled section and a similar clip is attached to the other of the track rails at the other end of the assembled sections.
Each connector clip is preformed to define an elongated channel to receive the bottom flange of the end of the rail. At the end of the channel receiving the rail, the connector clip includes a preformed depending tab extending transverse to the longitudinal axis of the clip; i.e., perpendicular to the track rail. An elongated slot is molded in the cross-tie and extends parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cross-tie (i.e., perpendicular to the track rail) and is positioned to receive the depending connector tab. The tab on the clip is not bent or deformed into the slot but instead is inserted in its preformed shape into the slot. After the tab of the clip is inserted into the slot in the track bed, each track rail is inserted through the elongated channel of the respective clip and through longitudinally aligned molded opposing flanges on the cross-ties with an end of each rail held in the respective clip by interference fit. An essentially pointed tool is then used to force or deform a dimple into the clip and into the track fail on the unsupported ends thereof to hold the clip onto the end of the rail, thereby retaining the track rail against movement longitudinally on the molded plastic bed.
The other track rail is similarly retained at the opposite end of the assembled section of track rail and molded plastic bed.
The track rail for use with the connector clips described has been extruded metal track having a solid bottom flange with a flat bottom surface to rest on the flat surface of molded plastic cross-ties and connector strips interconnecting the cross-ties.